Production Company Safety

Production companies have very unique safety issues. One of the most important is keeping the crew and actors safe. Production companies often use senior citizens and the disabled as part of the overall production. Some of your productions may include children as well. You will need to make sure you have looked at and manage the special needs of all these groups. Managing the special needs of these group increases the need for general set safety. Here are some general safety tips.

• Have at least one crew who is trained in first aid, and have a first aid kit handy
• Observe strictly the producing company/venue’s workplace policies in respect of:

           1. children in the workplace, including when they are part of a performance
           2. animals, including pets (but excluding companion animals) in the workplace

• Ensure that the systems, ropes, slings, barrels, safety chains, etc are in good order
• Appropriate fire extinguishers must be available
• Don’t remove safety guards from and equipment
• Keep all areas clean
• Hold safety meetings with the crew to review safety concerns
• Containers shall be provided for collection and separation of all refuse
• Lighting equipment likely to reach high temperature shall be suitably guarded with a clearance maintained from flexible cords to prevent overheating
• Don’t allow smoking on the set
• At no time shall any illegal drug/s be brought into or consumed in the working environment
• Make sure cables and other wiring is not in places where they can cause trips and falls.

These are in no means all the safety guidelines you must follow. Safety should be the responsibility of everyone engaged on the film or TV production.

Entertainment Equipment Insurance

Production companies have made a significant investment in lighting, costumes, cameras and props. The entertainment industry has specific needs which often require a customized insurance program. Your ongoing success depends on having the kind and quality of equipment your customers need. If equipment inventory is damaged or destroyed, your customer base and bottom line could suffer. We work to learn the unique exposures and risks associated with your entertainment company. We then work hand in hand with you to develop and design an insurance program to meet your specific needs

One way to avoid this kind of loss is to purchase appropriate Entertainment Equipment Insurance. John Hart Insurance specializes in providing insurance to the film industry. Some of the equipment you should consider insuring is:

• Editing Production Equipment
• Recording Studio Equipment
• Location Recording Equipment
• Musical Instruments/Band Equipment
• Camera Production Equipment
• Rented Equipment
• Wardrobes

Entertainment Equipment Insurance provides all risk coverage, subject to policy terms. Coverage is designed to repair or replace lost or damaged property.

John Hart insurance can also provide coverage for:

• Reshooting your lost or damaged data or film stock
• Production office
• Rented vehicles
• Rented props, rented sets, rented wardrobe
• Cast

Please call me for more information. 

What Coverage Do I Need for My Special Event?

Whether you are a production company, studio, independent film company, event planning company, or a private firm planning a client event, Special Event Insurance should be part of your planning. Special Event Insurance can provide the necessary security to ensure that if something does go wrong, you and your guests are protected.

What is Special Event Insurance?

There are many different kinds of Special Event insurance.  Special Event Insurance is designed to protect the event sponsors or planners against liability claims associated with the event. Claims can come from participants, vendors, and other third parties. Depending on your event, there is insurance coverage that addresses the specific risks. Here are a few of the different kinds of events that require insurance

Festivals - Music/Concert Events - Holiday Festivals - Private Business Events –Cast Parties – Media Events – Special Showings and more

What Kind of Insurance Should I Have?

Here are the different kinds of insurance that you should consider when holding your event. There is other coverage that you may need, but I wanted to identify at least three:

General Liability- General Liability insurance provides bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury to third parties arising out of the negligence of the event sponsors or organizers.

Liquor liability- If you are serving alcohol at your event, you need to make sure there is Liquor Liability coverage in place. Liquor Liability Insurance provides protection from claims relating to the sale, distribution, serving, or use of alcoholic beverages.

Event Cancellation- Event Cancellation Insurance is one of the most important items to consider. Event Cancellation Insurance protects the event planners or hosts from an unforeseen circumstance that requires the event to be canceled. It would provide funds to cover deposits and other costs that you may have already paid. Unforeseen circumstances could be related to weather, construction at the venue, or illness of the featured speaker or entertainer.

Christmas Tree Safety

According to the US Fire Administration over 400 homes are destroyed annually by causes related to Christmas tree fires. Here are a few good reminders to help you enjoy the holiday:

1. Keep your Christmas tree well watered. Refilling the water every day will help it last about two to three weeks.

2. Check the tree for freshness before buying. A freshly cut tree will have a sticky trunk and the needles will not fall off if touched.

3. Set your tree away from heat vents and the fireplace. Heated air just dries out a tree, and one shooting spark can cause a disaster.

4. Inspect the lights. Check for exposed or worn wires, as well as broken sockets.

5. Turn off the lights at night; use a timer if needed.

6.  Do not burn the tree in your fireplace.

7.  Do not overload the electrical circuits.

8.  Take your tree down the first of January.

Enjoy the holiday, and thank you for selecting John Hart Insurance. We look forward to serving you for years to come.

Cyber Liability

Reports in the Wall Street Journal have described accounts of a hackers breaking into over 2,400 different companies’ computers during an 18‐month period. In Oregon a private company experienced on‐line bank fraud. This seems to be the latest method of choice by these hackers. The FBI issued a press release in November 2009 concerning a type of “phishing” attack, or fraudulent means of obtaining personal credentials (bank account and password data, etc), occurring within small and medium businesses, municipal governments and school districts. The scam/phishing attack involves unsuspecting finance persons being lured into installing malicious software. The malicious software hides itself and records everything the person does on their personal/business computer. It records user names and passwords for every kind of transaction, including wires and ACH [Automated Clearing House]. The software will then forward the stolen data along with digital certificate information to the “bad guys” who will promptly use the information to transfer funds out of the organization’s bank account. As of October 2009, theft attempts have reached approximately $100 million.

Most business insurance policies do not cover computer fraud by a third party or the liability arising out of a cyber attack. The good news is the solutions are available. Make sure your crime policy has electronic crime and fraud coverage with appropriate limits. Cyber liability insurance can be added to your program to cover the costs associated with customer notification and recovery of hacked data.

The Value of an Independent Agent

John Hart Insurance is an independent agency. This means we don’t answer to any insurance company. We have access to dozens of markets, which gives us the ability to shop your account. Our job is to find the best possible combination of premium, coverage, and service. Your overall satisfaction is most important to us. We are the entertainment insurance expert.

• As your agent, we help you through the claim process. We look out after your interests
• We can offer you a number of insurance options
• Our team works for you not the insurance company
• We are experts in your industry
• We can explain the coverage differences and hard to understand terms
• We can review coverage and make necessary changes based on your needs

If you want truly unbiased advice, work with us. As an independent insurance agent we are very knowledgeable about your industry and the different companies that exist in the marketplace. We have worked with customers like you in the past and have a good idea of which companies have the best track record when it comes to pleasing their policy holders. We can narrow your options down and help you choose between the best insurance companies in the market.

15 Passenger Vans Do’s and Dont's

Many companies in the entertainment industry use 15 passenger vans. These vehicles are very effective in transporting people and equipment from studios to locations. There is a ongoing risk that I want to make you aware of; 15 passenger vans have one of the highest accident rates among all vehicles in the US.

During a 10 year period 2000-10, there were over 1512 fatal crashes involving 15 passenger vans.  Over 600 were single-vehicle accidents, and most of these were rollover accidents. Here are the issues that led to these accidents:

• The vans were not designed to accommodate 15 passengers and related cargo.
• Some vans had added luggage racks which added weight and contributed to accidents.
• The tires on 15 passengers vans seem to wear faster and become under-inflated causing poor steering and control issues.
• Adding passengers and cargo causes the center of gravity to move upward and rearward, increasing the potential for the driver to lose control and increasing a vehicle’s tendency to roll over.

What You Can Do

• Be aware of tire pressure
• Don’t overload the van
• Consider removing the rear seat
• Wear seat belts!  Keep all seat belts accessible and require that all passengers use them
• Do not overload 15-passenger vans, and do not use a roof rack or strap on cargo to the
• back of the van. As the weight inside a van increases, so does the van’s propensity to roll over
• Limit capacity to no more than 10 people
• Don’t tow anything behind the van
• For long distance trips, drivers should rotate every two hours